Georgia Is Still the SEC Standard-Bearer Until Proven Otherwise
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TAMPA, Fla. — Raylen Wilson smiled and licked his lips as he pondered the questions posed to him.
Is the SEC Texas’ to lose? Is there a favorite in the conference that’s not the back-to-back champions?
The Georgia linebacker delivered a measured response. “We really just try to focus on the stuff we can control,” Wilson said Tuesday at SEC media days at the Tampa Marriott Water Street. “We really don’t harp on, ‘Oh, they said this about us.’ We really just focus on getting better.”
Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart struck the same sentiment on stage just a few minutes earlier, preferring to focus on the results on the field rather than the increasing number of distractions off it.
“The landscape of college football, that’s all the talking heads want to talk about,” Smart said. “Everywhere I go, TV, media, everybody wants to talk about the landscape of college football. It’s sad it’s forgotten what wins games. Maybe that becomes boring, mundane but not at our place.”
“I’ve had questions about expansion, more SEC games, portal, college and federal legislation to navigate the NIL era we’re in, players leaving, coaches leaving. That’s all people want to talk about. What we focus on in Georgia is what wins football games.”
Georgia is the winningest team of the 2020s and laser-focused on maintaining that edge. The Bulldogs are 73-9 overall, having won three of the last four SEC championships. And though those national titles in 2021 and 2022 are starting to feel a bit distant given the SEC’s recent postseason struggles, they’re still the only team to go back-to-back in the College Football Playoff era.
So why is Georgia being treated like its lost a step?
The Bulldogs haven’t won a playoff game since the 2022 title, that 65-7 romp over TCU. They missed out on the CFP entirely in 2023, the final year of the four-team format. Georgia fell in the quarterfinals to Notre Dame in 2024 and in the same round against Ole Miss a season ago.
“We played two good teams the past two years, and we just didn’t play the game we needed to play,” Bulldogs center Drew Bobo said.
Amid Georgia’s downturn — if you can even call it that — offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, Drew’s father, has drawn his fair share of criticism. But the Bulldogs have never averaged fewer than 30 points per game or finished lower than sixth in the SEC in scoring since Bobo took over play-calling duties in 2023.
“I look at the production he’s had, the success he had, the team success where he doesn’t worry about — he worries about winning football games, and the way he coaches our players day-to-day is unmatched in this country,” Smart said of Bobo.
Quarterback Gunner Stockton echoed Smart’s support of Bobo, calling him “the best play-caller in the country.”
There aren’t many holes on Georgia’s roster, which consistently ranks as one of the most talented in the country. If you could poke a hole in the 2026 team, it might be the pass-catchers. The Bulldogs rank first, second or third in the SEC in Athlon’s unit rankings at every position group, except for wide receiver, where they rank ninth.
There might be something to those criticisms after Georgia finished 10th in the SEC in yards per pass attempt in 2025. Stockton is back for another season under center, but he’ll be throwing to three new starters, including Georgia Tech transfer Isiah Canion.
Smart seemed to embrace outside concern about his wide receivers, opting to use it as bulletin board material.
“I am just very thankful for people like you, that keep questioning them,” Smart said. “Because the more you question them, the more it helps me motivate them.”
These points are hardly evidence of cracks in the foundation in Athens. They’re a reflection of the realities of a sport that’s leveled off toward parity in the revenue-sharing era.
The Big Ten has been on top for the last three years, as Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana have won the last three titles. Smart was quick to point out it was Ole Miss, an SEC team, that knocked his Bulldogs out of the bracket in the quarterfinals.
“We have not had our best performances when we needed them most,” Smart said.
But does that mean the Bulldogs are no longer the top dogs?
Texas is a popular pick to win the SEC — and maybe even the national championship. However, Georgia is 3-0 against the Longhorns, including an overtime win in the 2024 conference title game, since they joined the SEC.
While Ole Miss has had some recent success against the Bulldogs, Georgia bested the Rebels in the 2025 regular season.
And Alabama has long given the Bulldogs issues, including last fall, but Georgia turned around and dominated the Crimson Tide in the conference championship.
Kirby Smart takes aim at the college football calendar, saying he’d like to see the season flow more week to week — presumably into the postseason. Georgia had nearly a month off between the SECCG on Dec. 6 and the CFP quarterfinal on Jan. 1.
— Kyle Wood (@Kkylewood) July 21, 2026
The SEC is assuredly deep. Oklahoma and Texas A&M are also coming off CFP appearances and coaching changes could elevate some struggling programs, including rivals Florida and Auburn, not to mention Lane Kiffin-led LSU.
But Smart is a big believer in process. And as the longest-tenured coach in the SEC and Nick Saban‘s most successful disciple, there’s plenty of justification for him to trust in his model after a decade of building the Bulldogs into the program they are today.
“Consistency and performance is what Georgia has been built on,” Smart said.
And you’d still be hard-pressed to find a more consistent performer than the Bulldogs.
Related: Ranking the SEC’s College Football Coaches for 2026
Related: Ranking College Football’s 10 Conferences for the 2026 Season
Related: Greg Sankey Addresses SEC Breaking Away, Congress Bill and CFP Expansion at SEC Media Days
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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